Peer I - Men's Residential Treatment

ARTS: a smoke free community

Peer I is a comprehensive therapeutic community for treatment of substance abuse and dependence for adult males

Residential Program

Adult males (18+)
Voluntary clients/Denver metro area
Criminal Justice referrals
Long term: 9-12 months

Peer I

Peer I is a 127-bed Therapeutic Community that offers long-term, intensive treatment for men who are addicted to drugs and alcohol. Licensed by the Colorado Alcohol and Drug Abuse Division (ADAD), Peer I is contracted by the Colorado Division of Criminal Justice as a Community Corrections center. Clients are referred from the criminal justice system, a direct judicial sentence, or from a variety of non-criminal justice agencies.
Peer I clients typically stay nine to 12 months in residential treatment, followed by an additional 12 months of outpatient TC treatment services. Long-term outcomes are very positive. In fact, according to the Colorado Division of Criminal Justice, recidivism rates for clients who have successfully completed treatment at Peer I are among the lowest in the state.
Peer I also offers a short-track program that involves a six month stay in residential treamtent and four months of outpatient treatment. This program is designed for clients who are not serving a community corrections sentence but could benefit from the structure and support that Peer I provides.

The Peer I day is highly structured from 5:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Clients participate in a variety of milieu activities which rely on behavior modification, contingency management approaches and cognitive strategies to help shape pro-social attitudes, behaviors and enhanced coping skills. Daily activities include in-house job assignments, individual and group sessions, family meetings and educational seminars about addiction and on-going recovery.
Our staff is comprised of licensed professionals and certified addictions counselors from a variety of professional fields.

What is a Therapeutic Community?
The primary goal of a Therapeutic Community (TC) is to foster individual change and positive growth. This is accomplished by changing an individual’s lifestyle through a community of concerned people working together to help themselves and each other.
Clients in a TC are members, as in any family setting; not patients, as in an institution. These members play a significant role in managing the TC and acting as positive role models for others to emulate. High expectations and high commitment from both TC members and staff support this positive change. Insight into one’s problems is gained through group and individual interaction, but learning through experience, failing and succeeding and experiencing the consequences, is considered to be the most potent influence toward achieving lasting change.

Program Structure
The Peer I TC is a highly structured, scientifically supported treatment model that encompasses progressive phases. They include:

Orientation (Approximately 30 days)
• Assessment
• Treatment planning
• Motivational counseling
• Program philosophy

Phase II (Approximately three to four months)
• Develop and strengthen problem-solving skills
• Identify and address behavioral problems
• Acquire pro-social attitudes and values

Striking Phase (Approximately X to X months)
• In-house job assignments
• Vocational coaching and job search techniques
• Persure full-time employment
• Establish and maintain health support systems outside the program

Transitional (Approximately three to five months)
• Emphasis on re-socialization
• Increase contact with community [employment, school, support and leisure activities]
• Re-socialization skills training
• Money management
• Employment placement and monitoring

Peer I Services
Treatment and Therapy
• Extensive assessment and treatment planning
• Milieu therapy
• Group therapy
• Family therapy
• Integrated treatment for co-occuring mental disorders
• Opioid replacement therapy
• Medication therapy, including Antabuse
• Relapse prevention
• Case management
• Drug testing/medication monitoring
• Strategies for Self Improvement Change curriculum
Medical Services
• Medical evaluation
• Psychiatric evaluation
• AIDS/HIV screening and counseling
Miscellaneous Services
• Financial counseling
• Coordination of legal information
• Vocational assesment and training
• Onsite GED preparation classes
• Re-socialization skills training
• Referrals to specialized services
• Recreation activities and excursions

Post-Residential Services

A continuum of care for clients, male and females, who successfully complete the residential portions of Peer I and The Haven.

Peer I Outpatient Therapeutic Community:

Individual/group therapy Relapse prevention education/groups
Family/couples group &individual therapy
Urinalysis/breathe tests
Medication monitoring
Off site psychiatric/medical services

Peer I Contact:
Kenneth Gaipa, LCSW, LAC, MAC
Paul Thompson, CAC III, Assistant Program Director
Telephone: (303) 761-2885
Fax: (303) 761-1450

Peer I/Haven Outpatient Therapeutic Community
Herbert L Brown, Jr. MA, CAC III, Program Coordinator
Telephone: (303) 333-4280
Fax: (303) 333-0104

Peer I Links

Colorado Division of Criminal Justice

Therapeutic Communities of America

World Federation of Therapeutic Communities